Key-holder



YNOV- 11, 1958 AA. c. w. BUCKETT. 2,859,789

KEY-HOLDER Filed May l24, 1957 INVENTOR.

United States Patent O KEY-HOLDER Arthur C. W. Buckett, Evanston, Ill.Application May 24, 1957, Serial No. 661,320 4 Claims. (Cl. 150-40) Thisinventionv relates to key-holders for holding one or more spare keys.

One Vobject of the present invention is toprovide a new and improvedkey-holder adapted to hold one or more spare keys so that they will bequickly available for use in the event that the users main set of keysis lost or misplaced.

A further object is to provide a new and improved key-holder which is soarranged that the keys may readily be replaced in the keyholder.

Another object is to provide a new and improved keyholder which isadapted to be received conveniently in a mans hip-pocket wallet or vestpocket, or in a ladys wallet, purse, or bag.

Still another object is to provide a new and improved key-holder whichis convenient and highly durable, yet is easy to manufacture andextremely low in cost.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will appear fromthe following description, taken with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a key-holder to be described as an illustrativeembodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevational viewof the key-holder.

. Fig. `3 is an end elevational view.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional View, taken generally along a line 44 in Fig. l. Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view, taken generallyalong a line 5--5 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional View, somewhat similar toFig. 4, but showing the keyholder in a ilexed'position, such as it mightassume in use, when carried in `a hip pocket wallet.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view, somewhat similar toFig. 4, but showing a modified construction.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view, somewhat similar toFig. 5, but showing another View of the same modified construction shownin Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a plan view of another modified key-holder adapted to holdthree keys.

As already indicated, Figs. 1-6 illustrate a key-holder 10 for -use incarrying one or more spare keys in the users pocket, wallet, purse, bag,or the like. Thus, the key-holder 10 comprises a thin flat resilientbody or plate 12 of a thickness corresponding generally to that of 'anordinary milled key adapted to operate tumbler locks or the like. Theillustrated plate is substantially rectangular in form and is made ofsuch a size as to 'iit conveniently in a vest-pocket or a card-pocket ofthe type usually provided on a mans hip-pocket wallet. For conveniencein inserting the key-holder into such a pocket, the plate 12 is formedwith rounded corners 14. As shown to best advantage in Figs. 2 and 3,the plate 12has longitudinal and transverse marginal edges 16 fand 18,`which are smoothly rounded so that the plate will slide easily into apocket or the like. One or more transverse fingernail grooves 20 may beformed in either or both faces of the plate 12, adjacent to either orboth ice ends thereof, for use in removing the plate from a pocket.

In order to accommodate one or more keys, the plate or body 12 of thekey-holder is formed with one or more sockets or apertures which aregenerally key-shaped. Thus, the key-holder 10 of Figs. 1-6 is providedwith two such apertures or openings 22 and 23. The aperture 22 is of ashape corresponding generally to that of a typical small key, such asthose commonly employed for operating the ignition and door locks ofautomobiles. Such a key 24 is shown in the aperture 22. The aperture orsocket 23 is made somewhat larger than the socket 22, to accommodate atypical large key, such as those commonly employed for operating doorlocks on homes and offices. Such a larger key 25 is shown in theaperture 23.

The apertures 22 and 23 for the keys 24 and 25 are made somewhatoversize so that a variety of keys may be accommodated conveniently.Usually large keys, or odd-shaped keys may be accommodated by enlargingthe apertures slightly with a le, knife, or other suitable tool.

The keys 24 and 25 are adapted to be retained in the apertures 22 and 23by means of upper straps or bridges 26 and lower straps 28 which extendtransversely across` each of the apertures or openings, on oppositesides of the plate or body 12. It will be seen that the under sides ofthe straps 26 and 28 are spaced apart by the body-plate 12, thus adistance corresponding generally to the thickness of a typical cylinderlock door-key, so

that the keys 24 and 25 will be retained in the apertures 4 22 and 23,between the straps 26 and 28. It is most advantageous to form the strapsor bridges 26 and 28 integrally with the body or plate 12. This mayreadily be done by molding the body 12 and the straps 26 and 28 in onepiece from one of various plastics having suitable physical properties,so that the plate and the straps will be strong, tough, moderatelypliable, and fully resilient. Suitable plastic materials includecellulose acetate, nylon, vinyl, polyethylene, polystyrene and the like.The tougher and more resilient of these plastics are preferred.

It will be seen that the key-receiving apertures 22 and 23 are somewhatelongated and are arranged to extend generally lengthwise with respectto the plate 12. The two apertures 22 and 23 are reversed in positionfrom end to end, with respect to each other, so as to conserve space.The illustrated straps or bridges 26 and 28 are narrow with respect tothe length of the apertures 22 and 23 and are arranged to extendtransversely across the apertures. It willbe seen that the straps 26 and28 are generally parallel to one another.

It will be seen that two of the straps 26 and 28 are provided on eachside of the plate 12 for each of the apertures 22 and 23. In theillustrated key-holder 10, two straps 26 are provided for each apertureonl one side of the plate 12, while two o-f the straps 28 are providedfor each aperture on the opposite side. It will also be seen that, inall cases, the strap or straps 26 or 28, or both, may be made continuousacross more than one aperture, thus accomplishing improvement instability, uniformity and simplicity of construction and appearance. Thestraps 26 and 28 on each side are spaced apart from each other anddisposed at different intermediate points with regard to the ends ofeach of the apertures 22 and 23.

It will be seen that the apertures 22 and 23 are formed with enlargedend portions so as to facilitate the insertion into and removal of thekeys into and out of the apertures, the enlarged end portions beingadapted to house the heads of the keys.

Each of the apertures 22 and 23 is formed with a beveled edge 34 at theenlarged end of the aperture. The bevel 34 is made wide and gradual soas to facilitate the insertion. and removal of the keys. The-bevelPatented Nov. 11, 19587 may be formed on one side of the plate 12, asshown, or on both sides and at one end of the plate or both.

The straps 26 and 28 are arranged to project slightly from the oppositesides of the plate 12, in the manner shown in Figs. 1 6, but since thestraps are quite thin, they will offer very little interference tosmooth and easy handling of the product.

It will be seen that all ends of the straps 26 and 28 are rounded olf toabout a half circle, as shown in Fig. 2, and that all projecting edges3i) of the projected parts of the straps are also rounded off, toaccomplish smoothness of handling and ease of insertion into and removalfrom a wallet, pocket, or elsewhere.

It will be seen that the key receiving apertures 22 and 23 of thekey-holder 10, shown in Figs. 1 6, are positioned toward one edge of theplate or body 12, so as to provide a clear unbroken space or panel 58extending along the opposite edge of the plate from one end to the otherthereof. This vclear panel 58 may be employed very advantageously tocarry an advertising message or the like. The key-holder may be made atsuch low cost that it may be given away in large numbers by variousadvertisers, for the sake of circulating an advertising message. Themessage may be molded directly into the body 12, or may be applied byprinting, stamping or in any other suitable manner.

It will be seen that Figs. 7 and 8 show a slightly modified key-holder40, in which the straps 26 are replaced with straps 42 which are setdown into the aperture 44,

as shown in Figs. 7 and 8, so that the top faces of the straps will beflush with the top face of the plate 46. This modification has theadvantage of providing a smooth, unobstructed top surface on thekey-holder, thus providing an increased area for the advertisingmessage. It is noteworthy, however, that the arrangement of Figs. 1 6has the advantage of permitting the use of a body-plate 12, of lessthickness, thus less bulky and more flexible. In other respects, themodified keyholder may be the same as the key-holder 10 of Figs. 1 6.

It will be seen that the straps 26 and 28 of the keyholder 10, shown inFigs. 1 6, are offset so that the adjacent straps 26 and 28 will not bedirectly opposite or overlap each other. The off-setting of the strapsfacilitates the molding of the key-holder in one piece using a standardtwo-part injection-type mold, and thus accomplishes the best means ofmanufacturing this device inexpensively.

This offsetting arrangement is highly favorable, as it greatly improvesthe space where a key is inserted into, or withdrawn from, a key-socketor aperture, thus favorably facilitating those operations.

The material to be used in this molding procedure is such that thekey-holder will be pliable under stress, so that it will accommodateitself to the curvature of the body, as required when the key-holder iscarried in a hip-pocket wallet. Moreover, the key-holder is resilient sothat it will return fully to its original flat condition, when thestress is relieved.

Fig. 6 illustrates the` manner in which the key-holder may be flexedwhen it is carried in a hip-pocket wallet or the like. The flexing isdue to the bending of the wallet to conform to the shape of the usersbody. Of course, the keys remain unflexed in the holder, but the plateor body 12 is flexed or bent as shown. The resilient straps 26 and 28and their relative placement permit this relative iexing between thekey-holder and the keys. Moreover, the positioning and action of thestraps is such as to minimize the extent to which the keys projectbeyond the opposite sides of the key-holder. Thus, as shown in Fig. 6,the ends of the key project only slightly above the upper face of theplate 12, while the midportion of thekey projects to only a slightextent beyond the lower face of the plate 12.

.F-ig. 9 shows another modified key-holder 50, consisting of abody-plate 51, which is provided with rounded corners, fully roundededges throughout its perimeter, and with two apertures 122 and 123, twokeys 124 and 125, straps, etc., all somewhat similar to, and placed inpositions also somewhat similar to the two apertures 22 and 23, etc., inFig. l, plus also a third aperture 52 for receiving a third key 54. Theaperture 52 is provided with a set of the straps 126 and 128, as in theembodiment of Figs. 1 6. It will be seen that the three apertures in thekey-holder 50 alternate in endwise position to conserve space. In otherrespects, the key-holder 50 may be the same as in Figs. 1 6. Accordinglycorresponding parts are given the same reference characters in Fig. 9 asin Figs. 1 6, with the addition of the prefix 1.

It will be seen that straps 126 and 12S in Fig. 9 have been madecontinuous across two and three apertures, and as has been described inrelation to strips 26 and 28, as shown in Fig. l, thus likewiseaccomplishing a better product, in structure, usage and appearance, bydoing so.

In use, a key is inserted into the holder by flexing to a slight extentthe body of the holder with one hand, while inserting the key into itsaperture, then between the retaining straps, with the other hand. Thebeveled edge at'the end of the aperture greatly facilitates thisoperation. The key is removed by a reverse sequence of operations.

The key-holder, with one or more keys therein, may readily be insertedinto a pocket of a hip-pocket wallet, purse or the like. facilitates theremoval of the key-holder from a wallet or the like.

Various modifications, alternative constructions and equivalents may beemployed without departing from the true spirit and scope of theinvention, as exemplified in the foregoing description and defined inthe following claims:

I claim:

1. A key-holder comprising a thin fiat resilient plate having anelongated aperture therethrough in the general shape of a key, first andsecond straps formed integrally with said plate and extendingtransversely across said aperture on one side of said plate at spacedintermediate points along the length thereof, and third and fourthstraps formed integrally with said plate and extending transverselyacross said aperture on the opposite side of said plate at spacedintermediate points along the length thereof, said straps being narrowrelative to the length of said aperture, the undersides of said thirdand fourth straps being spaced from the undersides of said first andsecond straps for confining a key therebetween in said aperture, saidthird and fourth straps being staggered longitudinally of said aperturerelative to said first and second straps to facilitate insertion andremoval of a key into and out of said aperture, said aperture having abeveled edge portion at one end thereof to facilitate insertion andremoval of the key.

2. A key-holder, comprising a plate having a generally key-shapedaperture therein, and thin bridges formed integrally with said plate andextending across said aperture on opposite sides of said plate, saidbridges being spaced apart for confining a key in said aperturetherebetween, said aperture having a beveled edge portion at one endthereof to facilitate insertion and removal of the key.

3. A holder for a key or the like, said holder comprising a thin flatelongated resilient plate having an elongated aperture therethrough withthe elongated dimension of said aperture extending longitudinally ofsaid plate, first and second straps integral with-said plate andextending across said aperture on one side of said plate, and at leastone additional strap integral with said plate and extending across saidaperture on the opposite side of -said plate for confining a key in saidaperture, said straps being of a width amounting to a minor fraction ofthe The fingernail groove in the key-holder length of said aperture anddisposed at diierent points along said aperture to facilitate insertionand removal of the key into and out of said aperture, each of saidstraps having an underside facing into said aperture, said undersides ofsaid first and second straps being in a plane spaced from the undersideof said additional strap to aiord room in said aperture for the keytherebetween without substantial deformation of said straps.

4. A holder for a key or the like, said holder comprising a thin ilatelongated resilient plate having an elongated aperture therethrough withthe elongated dimension of said aperture extending longitudinally ofsaid plate, rst and second straps integral with said plate and extendingacross said aperture on one side of said plate, and at least oneadditional strap integral with said plate and extending across saidaperture on the opposite side of said plate for confining a key in saidaperture, said straps being of a width amounting to a minor fraction ofthe length of said aperture and disposed at different points along saidaperture to facilitate insertion and removal of the key into and out ofsaid aperture, each of said straps having an inside facing into saidaperture, the undersides of said first and second straps beingsubstantially, in the plane of said one side of said plate, theunderside of said additional strap being substantially in the plane ofsaid opposite side of said plate, the underside of said additional strapthereby being spaced apart from the plane of the undersides of said rstand second straps by an amount corresponding to the thickness of saidplate to afford room for reception of the key in said aperture withoutsubstantial deformation of said straps.

References Cited in the flle of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS673,299 Spies Apr. 30, 1901 912,446 Clarke Feb. 16, 1909 2,734,624Kernicki Feb. 14, 1956 20 2,756,794 Buckett July 31, 1956

